Tale as old as time
by FrodoPotter19
Summary: It has been 1500 years and now Arthur, his knights and servants are back and cursed just like in beauty and the beast. Merlin on the other hand has been alive all this time and lives in a small town only talking to people when he needs to and only friends
1. Chapter 1

Summary; It has been 1500 years since Camelot fell and now Arthur and his knights are back; only this time things aren't looking too good. Merlin on the other hand is living a secluded life in a small village only talking to a few people. can destiny be that cruel or will it finally see these two succeed?

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Beauty and the beast. Those are owned only by their respected creators.

A/N:

 _This is my first time writing fanfiction so I am open to suggestions and comments._

Prologue

It all began long ago when your grandfather was just a wee lad. A man for which the world depended on was once again reincarnated. His name. Arthur Pendragon. Of course he didn't know who he had once been so had the mind of a rich ensnared boy. He was once again a prince and a prat. Because of his hatred the reincarnated knights and servants all feared him. One day there came a knock at the front doors and when he answered it there stood the most unnatural woman with messy unkempt hair, fingernails longer than they should be and old wrinkly skin as Grey as a rainy day.

"Can I help you?" he asked in not kind voice wondering what it was that was so important to disturb him.

"I'm sorry to disturb you but my car has broken down a ways back and was wondering if I could seek shelter for the night. I'm willing to pay you for the trouble." at this she held out a fist full of gold coins towards the young prince. In anger he hit the woman as hard as he could and shouted for all to hear.

"I don't want your money woman! And begone and bother somebody else." he would soon regret those words for the woman began to change before his very eyes and before he knew it he was no longer staring at an old hag but the most beautiful woman he had ever seen soon his whole demeanor changed and his face morphed into a smile.

"I'm sorry my lady if I had known how beautiful you were I would have allowed you in." that was his big mistake.

"You have proven that you are a monster Arthur Pendragon. You cannot accept people for who they are. For that I place a curse on you." and with that a table appeared out of nowhere and she placed the fistful of coins on it. "You are to become what you trully are and will remain so until you kiss the other side of your coin. Each year at the beginning a coin will fall off this table. If you havent kissed before the last coin falls you will fail your destiny and remain a beast." before Arthur could ask what destiny a searing pain washed over him and he fell to the floor hollering while inside the castle he heard the same happening to his knights and citizens. And then the pain was gone and so was the woman.

And so for the next 80 years Arthur waited impatiently for the day to come. The day he would no longer be a beast.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Nope don't own Merlin. If I did, a whole lot of stuff would be different in those last two episodes.

A/N: I always accept messages and will get to answer them on my free time. Anyways on to the chapter.

Merlin had lived for as long as he could remember. It had all started when that prat of a king decided to die. 1500 years ago. And since that day the young now ancient warlock never aged. He started to notice this fact when Gwen, Leon and Percival all stated that they each found a gray hair when they woke up one morning. It didn't stop there though. When Gaias died a year after the gray hair incident, then Leon died in battle 5 years after Camlann followed by Percival 2 years after that and Gwen 10 years later. Well Merlin had just about enough, and when it was almost half a year since Gwen's death he finally packed his bags and left for who knows where.

He couldn't go to Ealdor seeing as Hunith his mom had died 2 weeks prior so he just traveled for the next few centuries until he finally settled down in the village, opened an Antique shop and just waited for his king. It was 2 months later as he was closing up the shop for the night that set things in motion. He had turned around to head to his flat when he saw his old friend Will standing there grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Now most people in the town steered clear of the boy they called insane. Nobody wanted to hang out with somebody who owned an antique shop and talked about King Arthur nonstop, but for some unknown reason Will didn't care. He didn't have his memories but was drawn to Merlin as soon as the warlock entered the town. Becoming Merlin's only friend instantly. Merlin knew about reincarnation as he had seen a few not including will around town. None of them had been Merlin's friends, only servants and citizens. But he did see Morgause wandering around town a couple times and he was sure Agravaine was the one who seemed to be flirting with him from across the street.

"Hey, Will." Merlin spoke as he and Will began making their way towards his flat. "what are you up to." he knew that Will so much like his past life had a sort of Pesky streak and so was suspicious as to what he needed at that time of night. The boys grin just got wider.

"Oh, nothing." he said and almost wiped the grin of his face. Almost. "I was just wondering if you wanted to join me in the forest tomorrow to do some exploring." Merlin grew even more suspicious as emploring could mean a dozen things for his friend and it didn't usually mean exploring. More like scaring animals and anybody else on the trail. But not wanting to lose his only friend again this time around Merlin finally spoke.

"Sure but It'll have to be in the afternoon so I can arrange for the store to be close." after a bit more talking Merlin entered his flat while the other boy crossed the street to his own.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Merlin. If I did the last two episodes would have been different. Any characters and spells from the show are the property of the bbc.

A/N: I will try to upload a chapter every other day depending on my time. And of course am open to reviews and suggestions either it be for this story or an idea on another. Thanks. :)

Chapter Two

The next day once Merlin had woken up and had a quick breakfast he headed to the store and opened it a bit early. If he was to go with Will to the woods and close the store earlier than usual he best get as much work as he could done. A couple hours later and about an hour before he was to meet Will a group walked in and approached the counter.

It was Agravaine with the usual group of love obsessed girls who only seemed to swoon for him while the Lord seemed to have other ideas and was now staring at Merlin with lust in his eyes.

"Hello." he said as he inched closer to the ancient now very frightened warlock. "It's Merlin right?" All Merlin could do was nod as he thought back to the times he had problems with the man in Camelot. What he wanted to do was lash out at the man with his magic and defend himself. But he couldn't. Not until Arthur was back. His magic was only for Arthur. His magic and his feelings that is.

Before he could even think the door to the store opened and Morgause entered acting like she owned the place. She didn't pay any attention to Merlin. Agravaine turned and gave her a disappointed look.

"What?" Morgause asked as she looked passed him towards Merlin with a look that seemed to go beyond recognition. "You can have your way with Emrys later. Right now you are wanted in London by her majesty. No time to dawdle." With one last look towards Merlin Agravaine left followed by Morgause who was cackling away evilly. All the warlock was doing was staring and probably not breathing. Had the witch actually said his druid name? Did she remember? Or was it just a memory seeping through? Whatever it was had Merlin on edge.

He was woken out of his thoughts by the sound of the clock on the wall chiming that it was now 1:00; the time he was supposed to be meeting Will at. In a flurry Merlin quickly gathered his phone and bag. After he turned the sign on the door around so it read closed and locked up, he proceeded to run as fast as he could towards woods. In no time at all he made it and found his friend sitting on a log waiting.

"What took you so long?" Will questioned as soon as Merlin came to a stop in front of him.

"Agravaine." was all the warlock said. Will understood immediately, for even though Merlin hadn't been in the town long, it was long enough to notice Agravaine's advances. All will did after that was stand up and they made their way into the forest. For the longest time they didn't speak as they watched their surroundings carefully. It was well known that wolves roamed the forest and no one was usually dumb enough to enter them without a weapon.

Well. No one except the two idiots doing so at that very moment. Though Merlin did have a weapon; his magic that is. Though Will didn't know that. They were about to cross a bridge with went over a very deep river when they heard a echoing sound come from the air above them which nearly stop Merlin's immortal heart. It couldn't be.

It was. A griffon suddenly descended towards the ground in a swoop. Merlin in fear for his unarmed friend yelled for him to run and not look back. Will didn't need telling twice; he ran out of there as if there was tomorrow. Merlin would have to explain everything to him later. He heard a screech and... oh yeah the griffon which had now taken a running start at him. As swift as he could, he fled as there was enough time to gather his magic and say a spell which he tried to remember as he ran.

He didn't know where he was going. He wasn't aware of anything. All he was aware of was the large monstrous... monster chasing him. When he finally got the chance to use magic the sun was almost gone and the griffon was a good few yards. He remembered the spell finally. All he needed now was a weapon. ah. A sharp pointy stick would do. There was one lying nearby and he grabbed it hurriedly.

"Bregdan anweald gafeluec!" he shouted and just for a millisecond his eyes glowed gold. When the gold disappeared the only thing glowing was the sword which was glowing blue. As soon as the griffon came into view Merlin didn't bat an eyelash as he charged at the beast and plunged the pointy stick into the griffon. With a cry the griffon fell sideways.

It was no time for a victory cry. As soon as Merlin looked at his surroundings he knew he was lost. The sun was gone so it was too dark to see anything and he didn't know which way to turn. So picking a random pathway and too tired to use magic to get back to town the old warlock set off; hoping to at least find shelter for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Of course I could say I own Merlin but then I would be lying. The bbc has all the claim.

A/N: I am now accepting ideas on what everyone would like to see happen next. Whether it be how far Merlin and Arthur go, or any sort of climax. I accept anything.

Chapter Three

Merlin didn't know how long it took him to get to the end of that path. but when he did, what he found forced all of the air out of his lungs. It was a castle that looked exactly like Camelot. Well. A Camelot from a horror movie or his worst nightmares that is. The walls of the castle was made of black stone, the windows aglow with candle light. The door that he went up to was oaken with black iron decorations twisting up it in a not so pretty manner. A doorknocker in the shape of a familiar looking dragon stared back at him as if warning him to turn back.

But needing a place to stay and being an all powerful warlock. Merlin knocked the doorknocker with a resounding bang which seemed to shake the earth. There was no answer. Again he knocked and still there was no answer. Giving into temptation Merlin tried to push the door open and ever so slowly it swung open. For some unknown reason Merlin took a quick glance behind him; probably making sure Arthur wasn't there scolding him for being an idiot to enter a strange castle. Only problem was, he felt as if the place was familiar.

The hall that he entered was just as eerie and dark. Draperies hung from the walls moth eaten and covered in thick dust. Torches lined walls and columns unlit and a dirty decayed carpet led from the entrance to the foot of a decrepit staircase leading to the upper floors. As he proceeded to look for whoever owned the castle, he heard what sounded like voices but whenever he looked there was no one there. Maybe the place was haunted. He hoped not though. Last time he met a ghost it was Uther Pendragon and he was trying to kill him and Arthur.

He was entering what Looked to be a throne room when he heard movement behind him. Taking a chance Merlin turned around to greet what was surely the master of the place but what he found was anything but. There as if held up by strings was a red cloak with a dragon emblazoned on the shoulder and eyes which were staring at him. It looked for lack of a better word like a Camelot cloak.

Then he noticed a flagon which was labeled mead standing on the floor staring up at him as well. Merlin may have been a warlock, but due to his weariness and shock he promptly fainted on the spot.

When he came to the objects were still there, at his side watching him. He tried to sit up but fell back as his vision swam before him. That was when the cloak spoke.

"Don't try to sit up, you got a nasty shock so you must take it easy." the cloak which was a he said while looking at him in concern. "The names Lancelot by the way and this lout is Gwaine my ever present shadow." at the two names Merlin sat up quickly vision swimming as he tried to comprehend why he heard the names of his old friends. Before he could even utter a sound and maybe tell them his name he heard thunderous footsteps coming from out in the hall. As soon as they heard it Lancelot and Gwaine got really terrified and tried to get Merlin to hide but it was no use as the footsteps entered the throne room.

What Merlin saw terrified him; and he didn't get scared easily. The owner of the castle was a man who was about 3 feet taller than him, all covered in scars from which thick blond hair grew. He had sharp fangs for teeth and he also did not look pleased to see Merlin there.

"My lord!" Lancelot exclaimed and tried to think of what to say. "We didn't let him in I swear. We were just about to ask him to leave." It was a lie but that's all he had.

"Silence!" the Beast boomed and turned on them. "I will deal with you later!" Merlin didn't know what made him do it; probably because he reminded him of a certain royal prat. But he stood up from the floor and turned towards the beast.

"They are telling the truth!" he all but shouted. "The door was unlocked so I entered to see if I could spend the night because I got lost. I will leave if you wish." he turned to leave but the man whoever he was grabbed his arm painfully and spun him around.

"You can stay more than just tonight." the Beast growled before continuing. "You may stay forever... in the dungeons." and that was how Merlin in the last hour became a prisoner in the castle.

That night as the warlock sat hundled in the cold dark cell he tried to process what had happened and the names of the cloak and flagon of mead. But he was so tired he soon passed out with Lancelot and Gawaine on his mind. He dreamed that night about Camelot and times long since gone, not knowing what would happen in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I am so happy that people like this. And I'd like give my condolences to the family of John Hurt the voice of the Great Dragon who has sadly passed away. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, it's taken a while due to the novel I'm writing and my internet keeps shutting down.

Chapter Four

In the morning when Merlin woke up he was a bit confused as to why he was in a dungeon cell until he remembered the events of the night before. Man was he in over his head in trouble. It was maybe an hour later when he heard someone enter the dungeon and make their way over to his cell. By the sound of the heavy footstep Merlin knew that it was the beast who had entered and Merlin Found himself pressed up against the far wall with nowhere to run as the malformed man came into view.

He didn't look at all happy to be there as if someone had forced him to be there against his own will. It was a couple of heart beats before Merlin's captor finally spoke.

"I will be letting you out." he said and Merlin almost thanked him when the man continued. "Don't thank me. It was Lancelot's idea. He didn't want you stay in this cell for the rest of your life. I'll be giving you a room." and with that the cell was opened and Merlin was escorted out none too gently and led to a bedroom. It was a whole lot nicer than the cell was that's for sure.

Later around noon Merlin heard a knock at the bedroom door and when he allowed them to enter he saw that it was the knights cloak, Lancelot.

"Merlin." was the only word Lancelot uttered. It confused Merlin because he never told the cloak his name.

"How?" he dared to ask. "How do you know my name?" he should have knew the answer but for whatever reason the old and wise wizard did not.

Lancelot started to fidget on the spot and looked nervous. Or as nervous as a cloak could look. "Well. I remember. I remember my old friend. It's me. Sir Lancelot of Camelot; knight of the round table."

It was almost as if the tension was severed by Excalibur itself for Merlin all of a sudden rushed forwards and grabbed the cloak in both arms and hugged his long lost friend. It wasn't the same as hugging the flesh and blood Lancelot but it at least gave him hope.

Lancelot went on to explain about a curse which was cast over the who castle and town which turned everyone into items you can find in any ordinary castle, but also turned Arthur into a beast. He explained how the curse also made the Castle and it's town look unappealing to anyone. Then afterwards Lancelot and him spent sometime discussing the days of Camelot.

As this was going on; somewhere else in the castle a certain someone was ranting on and on about how that idiot just thought to walk into his castle uninvited even though the door was unlocked. All the while poor Gwaine and a sword whose name was Percival listened in tense silence.

"Princess." Gwaine decided to interrupt as he for no apparent reason had liked the guy only a minute after seeing him. "Sire! I think maybe you should calm down? Maybe he's the one the witch had meant all those years ago. Maybe he's to break this curse?" at this statement Arthur spun around to face him. Anger clear on his face while Percival looked on helplessly. Of course the sword wasn't there when the intruder entered the castle but like Gwaine he felt a sort of connection to the boy even though his name was never mentioned and Percival hadn't seen him.

Getting bored of all the shouting the once knight went off in search of someone. Anyone less loud. And that's how he found himself in the armory where he knew just the two guys to aide his boredom.

He was met with the sight of a suit of armor and yet another sword like him standing around talking. They looked up when they heard him enter.

"Arthur." was all the sword Leon said as the other sword joined them. Percival nodded and began talking about what he had heard.

Meanwhile back in the bedroom Merlin and Lancelot were still in conversation when another knock sounded at the door. He opened it to find a spool of thread there looking up at him while Lancelot walked over with a grin.

"Merlin." Lancelot said while his grin got even wider. "This is Gwen our seamstress and my girlfriend." Merlin tried not to show his excitement at meeting yet another friend but it was hard as he greeted her. They talked for a bit more until Lance said that they should leave him to get some sleep. Lancelot was following Gwen out when Merlin spoke again.

"By the way old friend." he said while Lancelot turned back around to face him. "Thanks for asking Arthur to let me out of the dungeons." Lancelot smiled at this before saying.

"Your welcome my friend. I just couldn't bare seeing you in the dungeons once again." Merlin protested but Lance continued. "I just wish that you weren't being kept prisoner in this castle as well. Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning" And the cloak left closing the door behind him." After getting into bed clothes and crawling onto the bed Merlin laid there letting sleep claim him. And as it did he vowed to make Arthur remember him and be he old self; because unknown to anyone back in Camelot, he was and still is in love with Arthur Pendragon.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I might not be able to update for 1 or 2 weeks as I am going to a relatives who doesn't have internet. I will try to go to tims every other day if I have a chance though. I'm glad everyone is liking this story, it took a while to figure out who should remember first. I thought that Lancelot should as he was the first in Camelot besides Gaias to know of Merlin's magic. Hope everyone is having a good day, now onto the chapter.

Chapter Five

In the morning Lancelot came to Merlin's door followed by a food trolley who he introduced as George and Merlin had to restrain himself from laughing at the fact that George was now a piece of furniture that you place things on. On top of the servant was a tray with Merlin's breakfast which said warlock dug into greedily.

"Arthur has agreed for you to leave your room today and for myself and Gwaine to give you the grand tour." Lancelot was about to continue when Gwaine strolled into the room.

"Are you guys ready?" the little tankard said in exasperation. "I was planning on starting with the North wing first." Lancelot nodded and once Merlin was done and George had left, they exited the room and walked around the castle. Merlin was shown the ballroom, dining room, kitchen, he had already seen the throne room so he was shown the library instead. Once that was done Gwaine took the liberty of warning the Warlock; not realizing that Merlin never does as he's told.

"We haven't shown you the East Wing and we won't." Gwaine said before continuing. "You are not to go to the East Wing. Not now, not ever." They were now standing at the bottom of a single staircase which seemed to be leading to the named East Wing. Lancelot and Gwaine somehow started arguing about why it was off limits to everyone. Apparently no one knew what was in the west wing; and it intrigued Merlin so much that he went around the bickering knights and made his way up the stairs.

When he got to the top of the stairs he found an ordinary door that looked like nothing important. So that's why he opened it anyways and entered. The room beyond the door was twice as scary as the rest of the castle. There were wall hangings everywhere torn to shreds, broken statues littered the floor, a stain glass window was smashed and one item caught his eye which seemed out of place; an ornate table standing inside a box with one coin on top. Inside the box were dozens of similar coins that seemed to have fallen off the table at some point.

Merlin was about to lift the coin from the table when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around and soon found himself being held by the neckerchief by a very furious Arthur.

"What do you think your doing?!" he shouted and gripped the neckerchief harder before continuing. "This wing is private! And yet you seek to invade my personal things!" Merlin tried to speak but he was thrown out of the room with Arthur yelling for him to get out.

He soon found himself at the bottom of the staircase staring at a very annoyed looking Gwaine and a not too happy Lancelot. Gwaine it seemed was itching to say something only for Lancelot to respond that they should talk in Merlin's room. And was they were in the room Gwaine didn't give the other two time to speak.

"You should have listened to me." He said while putting on a serious face. "But you haven't changed. You never listen do you Merlin?" Gwaine was now smiling that flirty smile he always had in Camelot and that was when Merlin knew that the knight had remembered. He now had two friends who remembered their past lives and he found himself with his arms wrapped around Gwaine as best he could when his friend was a tankard of mead.

It was around Lunch time that Merlin had decided to go outside to have a proper look around the town. At one point he looked up at a window to see Arthur staring out at him, probably making sure Merlin doesn't leave. Merlin looked down and swallowed a feeling of sorrow that filled his heart. His love for Arthur was growing and if he had paid attention to Arthur's posture and emotions he would have realized something.

In the East wing Arthur stared out the window with a growing feeling in his heart which really confused him immensely. He turned to Leon who was nearby and asked what he was feeling.

"I believe it's called love sire." The sword said looking at him pointedly.

"But isn't that for men and women combinations only?" man was Arthur really pointless Leon thought as he replied.

"No Arthur." he had his cross guard hands on his hilt like you would with hands on hips. "This isn't the middle ages. Men and men; and women and women have been dating each other since before we were cursed. It's not as frowned upon as much now as it was in the beginning though. As I said before; you are in love with him."

"Then what do I do Leon?" the prince asked looking a tad too scared.

"Ask him to dinner. Nicely mind you. Not demanding."

That was how Arthur found himself standing in front of Merlin's door before dinner having done what Leon said not to do. He had demanded Merlin join him for dinner and the warlock just slammed the door in his face catch his nose on the way.

Inside the room Merlin was crying to himself as Arthur continued yelling through the door. All the yelling did was make Merlin wonder if The prat would ever return the same feelings that he had for him. It was much later and close to midnight that hunger overpowered him and he found himself sneaking down to the kitchens where he found everyone including the Lancelot, Gwaine and Gwen hanging around talking. When he entered everyone turned away from whatever they were doing and looked at him. He walked over to his old friends as they smiled at him. They offered him food as he joined in their conversations until it was early the next day. By then he had almost forgot about Arthur. Almost.


	7. Author's Note

A/N: Sorry for not posting anything for a long time, I have been busy with my book and I haven't had any plot bunnies. But I will be updating in March only because I'm taking care of a family member for all of February.


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